Building owner SL Green negotiated with Loews to enable AEG to have access to the site 17 months before the movie theatre's lease expired. SL Green COO Gerry Nocera tells GlobeSt.com that it was important for the company to find a tenant for the site who would understand that it the development is topped by a 54-story 1.8 million sf office tower. "There was a lot of interest in the site," he says. "It's an exciting, adaptive reuse for this below-grade level space." The tower is home base for Viacom Inc., the MTV Studios and the Minksoff Theatre.

James Kuhn, president of Newmark, represented AEG, along with Brian Waterman and Lance Korman. SL Green's SVP and director of leasing Steven Durels structured the transaction.

According to Nocera, the site will be redesigned by the Rockwell Group into a high-end, state-of-the-art live entertainment venue with seating capacity for 2,100. Other AEG events include "Celine Dion: A New Day," and national concert tours for the likes of Prince, the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera, Dixie Chicks, American Idol and Rod Stewart.